SUST student rape: Two accused placed on four-day remand
Judge Harunur Rashid of the Sylhet Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court approved the remand for the accused, Shanto Tara Adnan and Swagata Das Partha
A Sylhet court has granted a four-day remand for two students of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) arrested in a case involving the alleged rape of a female student from the same university.
Judge Harunur Rashid of the Sylhet Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court approved the remand for the accused, Shanto Tara Adnan and Swagata Das Partha, today (23 June), after police sought five days to interrogate them in custody.
Kotwali Police Station Officer-in-Charge Ziaul Haque confirmed the development, saying, "The court has granted a four-day remand today. We will take the accused on remand and try to find out if anyone else is involved."
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The case was filed following a written complaint submitted by the victim student to the university's proctor on Thursday afternoon (19 June).
Based on her statement, police detained Shanto and Swagata later that night. Both students are from the 2021–22 session of SUST's Department of Social Sciences.
On Friday afternoon, the female student formally filed a case with Sylhet's Kotwali Police Station. In the case, Shanto and Swagata were named as accused, and three other unnamed individuals were also accused.
According to the student's complaint and university sources, she had gone out with the two accused to attend a concert in the city on 2 May.
Before the event, she was taken to a hostel in the Surma area, where she was allegedly rendered unconscious and raped.
The two students allegedly filmed the incident and took nude photos of her. Using these materials, they later blackmailed her and threatened to release them online if she disclosed the matter.
Following the complaint, the university proctor informed the police, who then detained the two accused and took them into custody after a discussion at the proctor's office.
Meanwhile, the university authorities formed a three-member investigation committee on Saturday (21 June) to look into the incident. The committee is headed by Proctor Professor Md Mokhlesur Rahman.
The other members of the committee are Dr Md Saiful Islam of the Civil Engineering Department and Belal Shikder of the Food Engineering and Tea Technology Department. The committee has been asked to submit its report within three working days.
